In the tunnel beneath the Gerry Arthurs Stand, midway through his post-match interview on Armagh’s record-breaking victory, Kieran McGeeney was asked about his goalkeeper.
Given Armagh had just set a new scoring record of 42 points in an Ulster senior football championship game, it might have been a peculiar line of questioning.
Armagh had 12 different scorers against Down. Blaine Hughes was not one of them. But none of what happened in the provincial semi-final would have been possible with their goalkeeper. He was their platform, their launch pad. Hughes provided Armagh with the ammunition to shoot the lights out.
He finished the game with an incredible kick-out completion rate of 95 per cent, Armagh retaining 21 of his 22 restarts. He went through the entire first half with 100 per cent kick-out retention.
And while the movement and energy of the Armagh players out the field allowed him to get around a dozen off short or inside the 45-metre line, five of his kick-outs picked out team-mates on or beyond the halfway line.
It was an awesome display of kicking by Hughes. And it was made all the more noteworthy by the fact he hadn’t been named to start. Ethan Rafferty played in the quarter-final victory Fermanagh and looked to have kept the No 1 jersey for the Down match after his inclusion in the official team named midweek.
And it was in relation to Armagh’s rotational policy with goalkeepers that the conversation with McGeeney turned to the No 1 jersey. Or No 16, as Hughes was wearing in Clones.
“It’s a meritocracy, whether we like it or not,” said McGeeney. “The best fellas will get playing some game time and you try to keep the competition levels high. Blaine’s done his job today, it was Ethan last week and he was exceptional last time as well.
“He got four or five points. From general play, he was very good for us as well. I just think competition is always better. But, again, the goalkeeper’s a tough, tough job. You make one mistake, you’re the villain.
“But you have to be 100 per cent good to be the hero. Both of them getting a wee bit of credit over the last week, it doesn’t go amiss because it’s not too often you get it as a goalkeeper.”
There was an era when the goalkeeping position tended largely to be the preserve of one player for many years until their leg could no longer hammer the ball down the field or they were simply ready for the retirement home for goalies – In Safe Hands.
Managers didn’t really tinker with the role. You had a goalkeeper and a sub goalkeeper. Everybody stayed in their lane. And nobody got struck by a stray short kick-out.
But the transformation of the position by the likes of Stephen Cluxton, Niall Morgan and Rory Beggan has changed Gaelic football goalkeeping forever.
Of the eight provincial finalists, Kerry are the only side not to have tried more than one goalkeeper between the posts this season, league or championship – and that is an enforced situation due to Shane Ryan’s quad injury.
Monaghan (three), Armagh (two), Galway (three), Roscommon (two), Cork (two), Westmeath (three) and Dublin (two) have all given starts to more than one goalkeeper this season.
In terms of the Leinster finalists, Dublin have started Evan Comerford in both of their championship games so far – the wins over Wicklow and Louth. The Ballymun man is almost certain to hold the jersey now for the remainder of the summer, despite Hugh O’Sullivan starting four of Dublin’s seven league games.
Westmeath appear to have come back around to settling on Jason Daly between the posts, but it hasn’t been a straightforward selection. Daly (three) and Jack Connaughton (four) shared the role during Westmeath’s league campaign, with the former getting the nod for their Leinster opener against Longford.
However, the Westmeath management team rolled the dice for the Meath game by handing Conor McCormack a first competitive start of the season. But McCormack, a converted goalkeeper, lasted only nine minutes after suffering an injury in a collision. Daly replaced McCormack and retained the jersey for Sunday’s win over Kildare.
In Connacht, Conor Carroll is Roscommon’s first-choice goalkeeper and played in both of their championship games so far – wins over New York and Mayo.
Aaron Brady had been deputising during the early stages of the season while Carroll was involved with St Brigid’s in their All-Ireland club campaign. Brady played the first four league games for Roscommon but Carroll has started every game since.
Galway gave game time to Conor Gleeson (three), Eamon McGrath (two) and Conor Flaherty (two) during the league. Flaherty got the nod for their Connacht semi-final against Leitrim but picked up a black card during the game and was ultimately replaced between the sticks by Gleeson.
In Munster, Patrick Doyle started in goal for six of Cork’s eight Division Two league games, with Micheál Aodh Martin lining out for the other two. However, Martin was handed the No 1 jersey for both of Cork’s Munster championship games so far – wins over Limerick and Tipperary.
Jack O’Connor is the only manager of a provincial finalist not to have meddled with his goalkeeping options throughout the league and championship, but again that is largely due to Ryan’s quad injury.
The 2025 All Star goalkeeper last featured in the McGrath Cup final against Cork in January but as Ryan has tried to overcome his injury problems, Murphy has kept goal in the Kingdom’s nine competitive outings.
In Ulster, Beggan will be between the posts for Monaghan in the Ulster final. He started both the win over Cavan and Derry, with his influence on the outcome of Saturday’s semi-final victory hard to overstate.
Monaghan did give chances to both Jack Kiernan (one) and Kian Mulligan (one) during the league but Beggan remains the Farney’s first-choice custodian.
Armagh’s use of Hughes and Rafferty has been a source of much debate in recent years and it will continue to be watched with interest ahead of the Ulster decider.
Rafferty started both the 2023 and 2025 provincial finals, while Hughes lined out in 2024.
Hughes actually started all seven of Armagh’s Division One games this year with Rafferty’s only league involvement coming as an outfield sub on two occasions.
Hughes started the Ulster preliminary round against Tyrone but Rafferty was then given the jersey against Fermanagh in the quarter-final. But Hughes was back against Down on Sunday. In such a situation, it must be hard for a manager to keep them happy?
“I don’t. It’s nice and simple, I don’t,” replied McGeeney in the tunnel as the Armagh players started to make their way out of the dressingroom, looking quite content with life.
“I keep them very unhappy. That’s mainly my job, if I was keeping them happy, then it wouldn’t work.”
